Love is Patient, Love is Kind
by Ang.E.M
Summary: okay, Ichigo transfers to Christianity, and love the I Corinthians 13, and learns that her boyfriend, Masaya, is the opposite of love, and Ryou is what love really is, her mind is really confused as she can't choose who SHE loves. IxR rated T...I think...
1. The Fight

**A/N: FINALLY!! A FANFICTION!! (now...as for the other twenty-seven fanfics somewhere in a jumble in my chaotic mind...eh-heh...) **

**STORY SUMMARY: Okay, this takes place four years after the Mew Project began, Pudding is 12, Ichigo and Mint are 16, Lettuce is 18, Zakuro is 19, Ryou is 20, and Keiichiro is 24 (oh, and Masaya is 16, but in all honesty, I really don't care) Ichigo decides she wants to take up Christianity after being a Zen Buddhist for so long and not even understanding the point of it...She eventually asks Zakuro what part of the BIBLE she should start, and Zakuro tells her to read the I Corinthians 13 (the part that goes, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast" etc, etc) It turns out to be Ichigo's favorite verse in the entire BIBLE, and memorizes it by heart within a few days. She learns that while her boyfriend, Masaya, is the exact OPPOSITE of what love is, Ryou treats her the way LOVE really is, and in the end, she winds up learning that she's loved Ryou all along...Kinda Christian-related, so sorry for those of you who are offended by this, but I am a Christian, and I Corinthians 13 is my favorite verse in the BIBLE, so, I'm writing a fanfiction about it!!**

**DURING CH. 1 OF "LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND": ICHIGO AND RYOU ARE ARGUING (since when didn't they??) MINTO IS THINKING OF SOMETHING **_**DASTARDLY**_** (as Pudding says) AND ZAKURO IS ACTUALLY AT WORK!! OH THE DRAMA!! (omg...)**

**kk...go ahead and read now!! **

**Love is Patient, Love is Kind**

**Chapter 1; The Fight**

"OH MY GOD, SHIGORANE! YOU KNOW, ONE DAY I'M NOT GONNA BE HERE, AND YOU'RE GONNA WISH I WAS!" a young, vivacious, redheaded girl shouted at her fuming blonde-haired boss. Ichigo Momoiya had, once again, been arguing with her boss, Ryou Shigorane.

"And why would I want you here, Strawberry? You're a clumsy slacker who drops countless plates each day," Ryou said, struggling to suppress his anger. He and Ichigo had been arguing for the past fifteen minutes because--not only had Ichigo dropped her tray, shattering glass and splattering pastries--Ryou and Keiichiro--the cafe's chef and co-owner--had caught Ichigo making out with her oh-so-perfect boyfriend, Masaya.

Of course Ryou was angry. Any guy would be if he were in that position. Ichigo is his employee; and, after having her work at Cafe Mew Mew for four years, he tends to treat the Strawberry like a little sister, so he feels that he must protect Ichigo from creeps like Masaya, who only want to use her. Yeah, that was it, that's also why they bicker so much. Ryou was in total denial that he actually had feelings for her. Seriously, who could _possibly_ love a Baka Strawberry like that??

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because I'M THE ONLY DAMN PERSON WHO ACTUALLY WORKS IN THIS DAMNED CAFE?!" Ichigo shouted, bringing Ryou back to their argument. "All Mint does is sit on her lazy ass and 'taste test' the tea; Pudding does more acrobatic stunts than she takes orders, and the orders she DOES take, she breaks the plates she's carrying while doing more stunts; Lettuce tries hard, but she's so clumsy that she breaks practically every plate she carries; Zakuro's not even HERE half the time; and while I admit that I'm a hopeless clutz, I don't waste time and i can actually give the customers their orders without breaking all the freaking plates we own. I DEMAND A RAISE!" Ichigo yelled at Ryou, trying to throw him off.

"You're not getting a raise," Ryou said in an alarmingly calm tone. He always knew how to remain calm, that's why he can seem so intimidating at times. It's also how he manages to win most the arguments he has with Ichigo.

The cat girl practically fell over. "You're just going to ignore the fact that I'm the only person who really works here?"

"Whoever said I was ignoring that fact?" He paused, smirking his infamous "I win" smirk. "You'd better get back to work, Baka, and I'd better not see you making out with Aoyama while your on duty." Ichigo made a move that looked like she was going to retort, but she thought better of it. Arguing with her boss made her feel too tired to do anything. Smirking, Ryou turned around to go upstairs to his bedroom.

"You didn't win yet, Ryou Shigorane," Ichigo muttered so quietly that Ryou just barely heard it, even with his advanced hearing due to injecting himself with Iriomote Wildcat DNA to make sure it was safe for the Mews.

The blonde smirked. "You keep telling yourself that, Strawberry," Ryou said as he walked away from a dumbstruck Ichigo.

"Whatever," she said as she returned to the kitchen where Masaya was waiting for her.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Mint said, lowering her binoculars, when Ichigo and Ryou had finished their argument.

"What do you mean, Mint?" Lettuce asked.

"I KNOW Ichigo was going to say something when Shigorane-san said she'd better not make out with Aoyama-kun, but she didn't"

"Well, they bicker all the time, it must be tiring for the both of them," Fujiwara Zakuro said, setting down the broom she had just been using.

"Hmmm..."

"Ooh! Mint-oneechan is thinking of something DASTARDLY!!" young Pudding said, bouncing up and down.

* * *

**A/N: MUAHAHAHA!! Really pathetic cliffy!! evil grin WHAT is Minto thinking now?? WHY did Ryou get so angry over a girl he SUPPOSEDLY didn't love?? WHEN did Ichigo admit she was a clutz?? WHERE did Pudding get a vocabulary??**

**ALL (or most) SHALL BE ANSWERED OVER THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS!! (okay...maybe not the last two questions...but...)**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! VERY MUCH APPRECIATED AS LONG AS IT'S NOT ANYTHING LIKE "omg, this is a stupid fanfiction, you should just decide to quit it," 'CAUSE THOSE ARE JUST A WASTE OF BOTH OF OUR TIMES!!**

**BUH-BYE!!**

**ANG.E.M**


	2. Zakurosan?

**_Hey, y'all!! It's me!! Okay, sorry I haven't updated this lately.....I couldn't think of anything to write for the chapter. I WAS going to make this chapter to where Ichi gets her BIBLE, BUUUUUUT, it would've seemed too rushed!!! XP SO, it's just a quick in-between-chapter to keep the story flowing!!! =D_**

**_I WILL update faster....I hope....._**

* * *

**Love is Patient, Love is Kind**

**Chapter 2; "Zakuro-san?"**

It was nearing the end of the Mews' shifts for the day, and the café was empty. Masaya left early since he had kendo practice. Ichigo was wiping down tables; Mint was still sitting on her butt, drinking tea; Lettuce was trying to wake up a sleeping Pudding; Zakuro was attending the cash register; Keiichiro was in the kitchen; and Ryou was wherever he was.

After a few minutes, Ichigo put the rag she had been using down, and walked up to Zakuro. She had a few questions she needed to ask, and Zakuro was the best person to ask.

"I…Zakuro-san, can I ask you something?" The young redhead asked the purple-haired model.

"You just did, but yeah, sure. What do you want?" Zakuro replied, looking away from the day's deductions. It was only a Monday, so work was slow.

"Well...umm…I know you're a Christian, so—"

"I'm Catholic. There is a difference. Why do you want to know? I thought you were Buddhist," the grey wolf asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I am! It's just…I get too angry sometimes, and I see no point in the whole religion! I mean, I _really_ don't believe in reincarnation. It's just silly! A joke! Plus, we don't really do anything, my family doesn't even have a Buddha statue, or whatever it is, in our house, or anything like that! So, in a way, I don't even think I have a religion," the catgirl said. Throughout her entire rant, she had been moving her hands around, trying to explain better. (A/N: I'm sorry, I have to say this: with Ichigo speaking with her hands, she'd make an Italian proud!)

"All right, all right, Ichigo, calm down. So you want to know what it's like to be a Christian?" Ichigo nodded. "Okay, since I'm Catholic, it's quite different. I'd suggest talking to Shirogane-san."

"Why? What's the difference between Christianity and Catholicism? And why would I ask Shirogane-san?" Ichigo asked.

"With Catholicism, we pray to Mary, you know, Jesus' mother, and some people think it's stupid. You may not like it, so I suggest just sticking with plain Christianity right now. And I suggested Shirogane-san because he was raised Christian. It's weird, I know, since he's a scientist and so was his father, but they believed in GOD, and prayed to HIM every day. Shirogane-san always said it's thanks to the LORD that he was successful in injecting Red Data Animal DNA in us without harming us," Zakuro explained. She had had many conversations with Shirogane about his religion (Why? We shall never know).

"Oh, well, what about Akasaka-san? I thought he lived with the Shiroganes."

"He never agreed with them. He's Baptist, which kind of explains why he's so…gentlemanly. Trust me, I've listened to the kind of music he listens to, it's kind of boring. And his record is cleaner than a whistle. No crimes…ever."

"I'm guessing being a Baptist is being a goody-two-shoe…?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep."

"Oh…well, that's no fun! You have to bend and break a few rules in order to live a full and happy life!" Zakuro smiled and nodded, agreeing with the redhead.

"Yeah..." Zakuro said, looking at her watch. "Oh, my GOD, Ichigo, we have to close up. I have a photo shoot to go to. Now. I've gotta go, all right?"

"Uhhh…okay! See you later Zakuro!" Ichigo said, bowing, as the model walked towards the changing rooms.

* * *

_**OMG!!!!! I am SOOO sorry that this is so short, I PROMISE my next story will be MUCH longer!!!!!!!**_

_**And, once again, sorry that I didn't update faster.....stuff's been up....like this month was volleyball open gym and tryouts.....I didn't make the team, so I'm going to be a manager.**_

_**PLEASE R&R!!! I'm a little sad that I didn't make the team, so this would REALLY make my day!!! =D**_

_**~Ang.E.M.**_


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